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god saved her from going in the ditch...

So I work with people who are crazy christians. I use the term crazy christians for people who are always bringing god up in their conversations. I know a few people who are christians, but never bring it up--it appears to be something personal and they do not get in others faces. But every day it is all I hear! Aargh! Recently we got some winter weather (doesn't happen that often here in southern Missouri). My coworker comes to work, says she started to slide while driving. So she prays, "please god don't let me go in the ditch". Lo and behold, she doesn't. So she tells us that god saved her from going in the ditch. All of my other coworkers are blessing god, blah, blah, blah. Only I am thinking, "So if you had gone in the ditch?" I just really don't understand their logic. I'm in a precarious position; small town, everyone crazy religious (no one knows I'm an atheist-I teach their children), but I just can't stand it. Next time I swear I am going to just come out with it: "You went in the ditch (or whatever it happens to be they were praying about), why weren't your prayers answered?" Sigh... Just had to vent.

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Permalink Reply by FreeThinker on January 29, 2011 at 6:41am

I've been driving for 15 years and have not had a single accident, despite not praying to their invisible friend. Does your co-worker thank her diety every day when she gets to work? Afterall, her tire could have gone flat and threw her off the road, her brakes could have gone out while she was in the middle of traffic, another car could have had a problem and smashed into her, etc. There's probably a million things that could go wrong every day. Does she assume that there were a million miracles?

By the way, there was a good discussion on the problems of miracles with a Christian caller on last week's episode of The Atheist Experience:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGGDKJlVX_o

The part about miracles starts at the 10 minute mark, but the whole clip is worth watching if you haven't already seen it. By the way, the reason that they think it is a prank call at the beginning is because Tracie had literally just spent 20 minutes debunking the claim that atheists hate God before the caller came on and made that assertion.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff H on February 9, 2011 at 8:01pm

I think it'd be more appropriate for her to thank the highway engineer who designed the road or the driver of the salter truck that gave her just a bit more traction.... or the driving instructor who taught her how to drive out of a skid.

If she's going around thanking people, then not thanking the people actually responsible for her good fortune seems a bit ungrateful to me.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa on February 9, 2011 at 11:25pm

I gets my goat every time god is given credit for a close call. Maybe if they're going have god have anything to do with it, they should be asking why he caused it in the first place or didn't intervene sooner. No different than when somebody gets well from a disease. Give god credit for the cure...why not give him credit for the cause?